Gov. Reynolds orders flags to half-staff Friday in honor of fallen WWII soldier

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) - Governor Kim Reynolds ordered flags to half-staff on Friday to honor fallen Navy Storekeeper 3rd Class Harry E. Nichols, who was killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II.

Nichols, a Sioux City-native, was 21-years-old at the time of the attack. He was on the USS Oklahoma, at Ford Island, when the ship was hit by Japanese aircraft on December 7, 1941. The ship quickly capsized after multiple torpedo hits.

More than 80 years later, Nichols remains are returning to Iowa for a burial. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced his remains had been identified last month as part of an effort to identify previously unidentified remains from the attack.

The burial service is set for 11 a.m. Friday at Memorial Park Cemetery in Sioux City.

Flags will be at half-staff at the State Capitol Building and in the Capitol Complex, as well as all public buildings, grounds and facilities across the state.

People, businesses and schools are also asked to fly flags at half-staff from sunrise to sunset Friday as a sign of respect.